Venom Strikes Again
by Artistic Tuba
Summary: Chapter 10 is finally up. A bit of action, although the chapter is rather short.
1. Before the New Threat

Before the New Threat

(This takes place sometime after SF: Assault. The character in the beginning, and a few others are my own. Fox and the team will be introduced later. This will begin as a mix between journal entries and regular events.) Fox, Krystal, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, Rob, Tricky are © Nintendo™. Krin Shorehm is MINE.

Another note: Journal entries are on dates Apr. 2, 3, and 4. The regular events are on the 6th.

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April 2, 2875

Journal entry #1

I've been walking around this planet for some time now. The inhabitants don't seem to be hostile, but I can't understand a single word they're saying. I need to figure out how to speak their language. Maybe then I can get some information, and maybe even some equipment. I have learned that their proper nouns are said the same as in Lylatian, however. Hopefully that'll be useful in learning their language. For now, though, there's no way off this rock. My fuel tank's empty, and my ship is pretty much totaled.

That'll be all for now. Maybe tomorrow I can find something.

A weary fox paced around a cave, his near pitch black fur glistening in the grim light of a torch-fire. His eyes were closed in thought, and yet somehow he managed to stay on his same path round and round again. A twig snapped outside, breaking the rhythm of the fox's steps. His eyes shot open, and he looked straight at the entrance with piercing blue eyes, unbefitting of his fur. "Who's there?" He said loudly, with no response to his question. He stepped cautiously towards the cave's mouth, towards the outdoors, keeping a sharp eye at every possible point an enemy could spring from.

A large triceratops poked his head around the corner, a look of blunt, pure curiosity on his face. The vulpine rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's just you again. Why do you keep following me everywhere?" The triceratops replied in a semi-high tenor,¹ speaking in a language the vulpine didn't understand. "When are you going to figure out that I don't understand your language?" the fox sighed, an intensely annoyed tone to his voice.

Suddenly, the triceratops spoke lylatian, "Fine, you meanie. I don't know why my dad told me to follow you. You're just a big jerk."

The fox raised an eyebrow, and said, "So it speaks." He then took a breath before saying, "I'm just frustrated. My ship crashed, and I'm stuck here till I either find a means to repair my ship, or someone comes down here and picks me up. Both options seem highly unlikely. What's your name, anyway?"

"I'm Tricky, Prince of the Earthwalker Tribe." The triceratops said with pride, before giving the vulpine a curious glance and asking, "What's yours?"

The fox sighed, "Let's see, I've been called Jet, Shadow, and Viper, but my real name's Krin. Krin Shorehm." He seemed somehow annoyed about having so many names. Then, he smiled slightly and added, "So, Tricky, would you happen to know of any ways off this planet?"

April 3, 2875

Journal Entry #2

Well, I've been here for two days now. At least this place is hospitable, though I could do without the mosquitoes. I found myself a cave to stay in for a while. I've noticed different calls between these dinosaurs. Sauria does seem to be a beautiful place. I'm glad I decided to crash here, and not on Venom, or something. It seems like the Cornerian Army didn't really care too much about finding me. That or they think I'm dead. Either way is good for me. I do wonder about that Starfox team though. I hadn't heard any news on them since they went through the warp gate. Such a strange course of events this is turning out to be.

I'll leave the rest for tomorrow. _Krin_

Somewhere outside the Lylat system:

"How much longer do we got to go?" An annoyed falcon said, sprawled in an armchair. "I'm getting bored in here."

"Do you have an estimate, Peppy?" A male fox with orange and white fur said afterwards to a grey hare.

"Hang on, just a second." The hare replied, working endlessly on a keyboard in front of a holo-moniter. "If we keep up this rate, we should be in communication range of Corneria within two hours."

"Excellent. Another two hours wasted like bums." The falcon said.

"Better than being dead, isn't it, Falco?" The fox chuckled at his friend and colleague's attitude.

"Whatever. At least I wouldn't be cooped up in here all the time." Falco said, sitting up.

"Oh, stop it." A blue vixen said, coming from the back room. "You should be thankful that you're…" The vixen suddenly stopped, looking away slightly. The fox got up and moved to her swiftly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Krystal, what's wrong?" He said in a low voice.

"It's Tricky. He says that we should go to Sauria. He wants us to meet him at Cape Claw." Krystal said, in a concerned tone.

"What sort of trouble could be going on now? The Aparoids are gone, and I thought the sharpclaw were all wiped out." Fox said.

"Oh, brother. Don't tell me we have to do another rescue mission." Falco said.

"Well, there's not much we can do about it right now, unless me and Krystal go down in Arwings." Fox said. They continued through space, closing in on the Cornerian long range communications satellite.

April 4, 2875

Journal #3

Third day here. I've pretty much given up on finding any form of modern technology. This place is so primitive, they probably cook over a fire or something, if they cook at all. I'm tired of nature, with the crickets at night, and birds during the day. I can't focus worth a damn with all that racket. However, I have a feeling that someone, or something, is following me. It may be just a feeling, but it's a strong one.

Hope it's not hostile. I don't need to be killing anything down here.

Krin paced back and forth as Tricky concentrated. Suddenly, Tricky opened his eyes and said, "I contacted Krystal. They should be here soon."

"Thanks. You're not so bad, when I can actually understand what you're saying." Krin said, smirking. "You must have a pretty strong focus, if you can communicate telepathically."

"It's nothing much. Krystal just said that I should contact her if anything came up." Tricky said.

"Heh. Sounds like a nice person. Who is this 'they' you referred to though?"

"Oh, it's the Starfox team. I'm an honorary member, too." Tricky showed a winged insignia pin, catching the light on it, and smiling with pride.

"Nice." Krin said. He wanted to add 'How'd you manage that?', but figured it'd be a bit mean for Tricky's age. _"So, Starfox is coming, eh? Hope they didn't hear about me." _He thought.

"Well, I have a few things I have to do before they get here. How about you stay here, so if I'm not back by the time they arrive, you can greet them."

"Alright." Tricky said, obviously disappointed at not being allowed to go on some sort of adventure.

Krin stepped out of the cave, and into a warm, salty breeze. He walked down a beach, towards a large rock. As he circumnavigated the rock, his wrecked ship came into view, and he sighed, shaking his head at the inconvenience. He hopped on top of it, and began searching through the remains for anything he wanted to keep, or any equipment he could salvage.

An hour later, Krin began walking back up the beach, keeping to the shadows, just in case. "Thank goodness for black fur." He said to himself. When he was about 50 yards from the cave, he heard the sound of engines, and ducked into deeper shadows, watching as a pair of Arwings flew overhead. As they passed, Krin continued walking, reaching the cave, and putting everything down on a makeshift table he had found, next to a sword with a finely embroidered handle.

Just as he finished piling the junk so it was easier to carry, an orange furred and a blue furred fox walked up to Tricky. He leaned against the wall to watch for a moment.

"Hey Tricky, what's up?" The male fox said. The female fox with blue fur was looking around, and saw Krin, who happened to be looking off into the distance. It was apparent that she was barely able to hold back a gasp.

"There's a guy here that wants help." Tricky said. At this, Krin pushed himself straight up, and walked towards them, calmly looking the foxes over.

"Who are you?" The male fox asked.

Krin smiled, "The name's Krin Shorehm. You must be the legendary Fox McCloud."

"Yeah. And this is Krystal." He put a hand on the female's shoulder. "Now why is it you want our help?" Fox asked.

"Well, my ship got totaled on impact, because I kind of ran out of fuel." Krin explained, "And so I've had to be here for the past 5 days."

"How do we know your ship is really totaled?" Fox asked, obviously not trusting Him.

Krin sighed, and walked over to the pile of junk, fishing something out of it. He came back, holding a small, electronic chip. "Normally, you can't find a fighter's control chip 5 yards away from the fighter itself." He said, simply.

Before Fox could reply, Krystal said, "You look familiar. I think I've seen you somewhere."

Krin shrugged, "I've been around. You may have seen me somewhere, but it doesn't mean much."

Krystal shook her head. "Not in person. On a poster." Suddenly, she had an epiphany, "You were on a wanted poster on Corneria a while back!"

Fox looked shocked at this, while Krin just sighed and nodded, "Wanted for something I didn't even do. Kinda pathetic, really. It's also the reason I wound up here."

"What is it you were accused of?" Fox asked.

"I'm not even entirely sure of that. No one could really keep up long enough to tell me." Krin said, "I never have gotten along with cops very well, even when I wasn't being accused of anything."

"So, you evaded the authorities, only to run out of fuel and get stuck here. Is that about right?" Fox asked, looking somewhat annoyed at this. As they spoke, Krystal took Tricky outside to talk to him.

"Unfortunately." Krin replied.

"I see. And why do you think we would help you?"

"Maybe because I got framed. The only reason I ran is because I haven't figured out who did it yet. When I figure that out, I can go to the police to turn myself in, and give the evidence to them to get this straight."

"Wait. You said you didn't know why they were after you." Fox glared at Krin, now very suspicious.

Krin sighed. "Just because I got framed, doesn't mean I know what the crime was. I was just trying to see if I could get a ride without laying out my life story."

"Fine. We'll let you stick around a while. But you'd better do like you said." Fox said.

"Thanks. I'm a man of my word. Unless it's out of my power, I'll stick to it." Krin said, moving towards his pile of junk, and sorting through it a bit, tossing away useless things, like dead power cells. After sorting through the whole pile, he picked up a sword, with an embroidered, black hilt, attached it to his belt, then picked up what he had decided to keep of the parts.

"Sorry, but we're gonna be here for a bit as well." Fox said. "We need a new command ship, and Falco, Slippy, and Peppy are on their way to get it."

Krin blinked, then sighed, "Great. Well, I might as well take the useless junk back to the wreckage." With that, he set down the salvaged parts, and collected up the useless parts he had taken out of the pile of things he could actually use.

At about that time, Krystal walked back in. "What's going on?" She asked, as she hadn't heard the conversation.

Fox turned to her and said, "He'll be coming with us when we leave." Then, quietly, he added, "But only if he's trustworthy." As he said this, however, Krin walked by, heading for his ship's wreckage.

"He's definitely a strange one." Krystal said. "I don't understand why he's seems so secretive though."

"Who knows? There are a lot of people like that in the galaxy." Fox said.

Back on what's left of the Great Fox:

"C'mon. How long is this gonna take?!" Falco said, very annoyed, and bored out of his wits.

"Be patient Falco." Peppy said, "They'll be here soon. We sent the message almost an hour ago."

"Yeah, and that's another hour of my life wasted not flying." Falco scowled at the floor. "Why couldn't I have gone to check out what that miniature triceratops wanted anyway?"

"Because, Falco, you don't know the planet as well as Fox, or Krystal. And besides, you're not the best at communicating." Peppy said, watching the main screen as it flickered a bit here and there. As Falco grumbled about still being bored, Slippy walked into the room, looking rather pleased with himself. "And what are you so happy about?" Peppy asked.

"I just finished making a mini generator." Slippy announced, "It'll make sure we have enough power to stay up and running for a good long while after what's needed."

"Great. More lounging around." Falco rolled his eyes. "That's JUST what I need."

"Shut your beak, Falco. You could at least appreciate the fact that it'll give us enough power to maintain contact with Corneria." Slippy was indignant at Falco's persistant lack of appreciation.

"Speaking of Corneria, we've just entered contact range. Requesting transmission now." Peppy looked at the others, as a dog's face appeared on the holo-screen.

"Starfox?! I don't believe it! You guys actually made it back!?" The officer was in complete shock.

"Yes. We're all back safe. But, the Great Fox was destroyed during the battle." Peppy sighed.

"That's not a problem. Where's Fox?" The dog asked.

"He and Krystal are on Sauria, dealing with something." Peppy replied. "Think you could get a transport vessel out here? We're not going quite as fast as we would like, and we don't want to make Fox wait for us for too long."

"Well, that's no problem at all. We'll have a couple of tow shuttles out there as soon as we can." The dog said. With that, his image faded from the screen.

"You hear that? We're finally going home." Peppy said, sighing.

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¹ Triceratops says: "Well, if you'd tell me who you are. And why are you so mean, anyways?"


	2. A Looming Evil?

Once again, most of these characters are © Nintendo. (Don't feel like listing them right now.)

Krin Shorehm and Herald Ripper are © Me. (And a warning. The list of my characters is likely to grow.)

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Chapter 2: A Looming Evil?

Krin sat on a large rock outside his cave, watching the crisp waves of the ocean of Sauria crash against the white sanded beach. He sighed inwardly, rubbing his temples. "I'm tired of lying." He said to himself, as he looked over at the trail Fox and Krystal had gone up. "When are those two lovebirds getting back? It doesn't take **that** long to get food, does it?"

He shook his head as they came down the path, holding hands. Fox's pack was full, and he didn't seem to want Krystal to have to carry anything, as he also had a bag in his other hand. As soon as they got onto the beach, however, they separated, as though no one was supposed to know they liked each other.

"We're back." Fox said, trying hard to sound bored.

"What, did you two stop for an intimate moment or something?" Krin asked, a rather unconcerned look on his face.

Fox's face immediately flushed, though unseen through his fur. "What kind of a question is that?" He said, barely keeping himself from yelling.

Krystal giggled a bit before saying, "It was my fault. I just wanted to show him something in the forest."

Krin snorted, standing up. "Well, don't go getting pregnant or something. That'd slow us all down." With that, he walked into the cave, leaving Krystal to gawk disbelievingly at his comment.

"What a jerk." Krystal breathed, as soon as Krin was out of earshot.

Fox walked over next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder, saying softly, "Ignore him. I'm sure he's just saying those things to get on our nerves."

"Well, he's certainly done a fine job." Krystal said quietly, turning to Fox and wrapping her arms around him.

On Corneria:

Falco, Peppy, and Slippy sat in an office, talking with an old bulldog. The small sign on his desk said 'General G. Pepper'. "It's good to see you all made it back. Where are Fox and Krystal?" The bulldog asked.

"There on Sauria, General. Apparently something was going on, and they went to check it out." Peppy said, smiling.

"Well, we need to get them here. There are many people waiting to thank all of you for defeating the aparoids." Pepper said, folding his hands on his desk. "We'll send one of our ships to retrieve them. Meanwhile, it seems you need a new ship of your own."

Peppy chuckled, "That was my fault."

Slippy piped in, "I can make it. I remember the blueprints."

"We'll put you in charge of its construction then." Pepper said, "Well, I suppose you'll be wanting some rest after your mission. I'll call you back if anything comes up."

"Thank you, General." Peppy said, standing up. Falco and Slippy followed suit.

"Where should I go for the construction?" Slippy asked, impatient to get started.

"The construction will be held in dock 4. We'll plan to begin at 1000 hours (that's ten hundred hours, for you non-military people)."

Peppy, Falco, and Slippy walked out of the office, walking through the halls of the main Cornerian military base. Several officers, cadets and veterans alike, congratulated them, patting them on the back as they headed towards their own destinations. The three members of the Star Fox team headed pretty much straight for the exit, hoping to get to their large house as soon as possible, also hoping it wasn't destroyed.

Back on Sauria, a few days later:

Fox and Krystal had gone out on a little walk, leaving Krin alone once again. Right then, he was near the wreckage of his ship with his sword, practicing. He threw a rock into the air, and as it came down, swung at it, completely missing. Several other rocks lay on the ground, undamaged.

"Damn it! Why can't I focus?" He yelled furiously. He breathed deep, and sighed. "Something is wrong. I can always hit my mark." Krin picked up his the scabbard for his broadsword, and sheathed the blade. He began making his way back to the cave, thinking hard on his current predicament. Fox and Krystal were already back at the cave when he arrived.

"Something wrong?" Fox asked, knowing all too well the expression of concern Krin exhibited.

"Just your face." Krin said, walking to the back of the cave and setting his sword down. "I can't focus." He added as he came back.

"So you're having a bad day?" Krystal said, almost incredulously.

"It's more than that. Even on bad days I can focus. It seems as if the only time I can't concentrate is when something bad is going to happen." Krin said, sitting down and rubbing his temples.

"Sounds a bit farfetched to me." Fox said.

"It may just be coincidence or something, but it's happened about a day or so before anything bad. It even happened before the Andross War, and the Aparoid invasion." Krin said, seriousness flowing in his voice as naturally as his earlier sarcasm.

Krystal sat straight up, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. "So, you're the energy I've been sensing all this time!"

"What are you talking about?" Krin said, confused.

"I can sense it when there are others with power similar to my own telepathy. You have that power, it just seems to come in a different form. You can sense danger before it happens." Krystal explained.

"You're kidding, right?" Krin said, shocked. "Then, why can't I keep my focus when this happens?"

"You haven't developed the skill yet, so it has to find other means of getting your attention." Krystal said, thinking hard. "I could probably help you control it."

"Wait, Krystal." Fox cut in. "We don't even really know how well we can trust this guy."

"I know that, Fox, but his ability is so interesting." Krystal said, not sure what to do. "I want to at least know if it really works."

Krin laughed, "I guess I haven't really given you guys any real reason to trust me, have I? I mean, amongst avoiding police for being framed for a crime I don't even know about, and annoying you." His voice grew serious again, "But I tell the truth when I say that this time was one of the worst ever when I lost my focus."

Fox sighed, "And what exactly does that mean for us?"

Krystal cut in before Krin could reply, "If it was the worst as of yet, it no doubt means something possibly more dangerous than the Aparoids is coming."

Krin took a deep breath before saying, "And possibly more stubborn than Andross. I'm not sure, but I think I understand this power I seem to have. If only I could harness it. Don't worry, though. I won't expect anything until I've earned your trust."

A dark silence followed, broken a few moments later by Fox's communicator beeping. Fox hit the receiver button, and a holographic head of a young wolf appeared.

"Fox? This is Lieutenant Herald Ripper, of the Cornerian Defense Fleet. I had specific orders from General Pepper to pick you up." The wolf said.

"Oh. What's the progress on the Great Fox?" Fox asked.

"I don't know. I was sent out here before the construction began." The wolf replied. "So, are you ready to be picked up?"

"Yeah. But, we have an extra passenger with us." As Fox said this, he noticed that Krin looked very annoyed. "Hang on." He set his communicator to mute, before asking, "What's wrong with you, Krin?"

"It's the CDF. They're gonna arrest me on sight." Krin said. "I don't necessarily feel like going to jail with nothing for my case."

"Don't worry. If you're with me, I'm sure we can get by somehow." Fox said, "Especially since you seem so keen to get the evidence to protect yourself."

"Thanks. You're being rather nice for how I've been treating you guys the past few days. Guess I was just sore about crashing here." Krin said, then sighed heavily before adding, "Go for it."

Fox nodded, and reestablished voice communication. "Alright. We'll be up there in a minute, Lieutenant. Just send me the coordinates."

"You got it." Herald said, smiling. "Coordinates sent. See you in a bit." With that, the communication was closed.

"Well, time for a fun little explanation." Krin said. "I may not know what the crime is, but I have an idea of who could've done it, so it's possible I may get my answer sooner, rather than later thanks to this."

"Right. Well, just come on." Fox said, as he and Krystal stood up to head to their arwings. Krin stood and gathered his stuff, following them. He made sure his sword was loose in its scabbard before getting into the reserve seat behind the pilot's seat in Fox's arwing.

"And so it begins." Krin mumbled quietly as they flew off into space, towards the cruiser sent to pick them up.

Corneria:

Slippy looked down on the mostly finished new Great Fox, proud of himself for the slight modifications he had made to make it better. Below him, people worked hard to piece together the mighty craft. Falco was down below as well, directing people to do what they were supposed to be doing. Peppy, however, was nowhere to be seen. Slippy assumed he was getting the rest he needed.

That was not the case however, as Peppy was speaking with General Pepper on an issue that was currently only known amongst the higher ranking officers.

"So, you believe something is going on on Venom?" Peppy said, trying to confirm what the general had just told him.

"That's correct. We have reason to think that whatever is going on, something plans on attempting to undertake what Andross failed to do, and take over the Lylat System." Pepper said, nodding.

"And how would you know that they were planning this?" Peppy asked, somewhat incredulously.

"We intercepted a radio transmission. It wasn't very heavily coded. The attack is planned for 2 days from now." Pepper said, getting out a note. "This came from the intercept ship. They requested that we send troops to Venom immediately."

Peppy read the note. When he finished, he just stared at it blankly. He wanted to accept the mission, but he knew he wasn't the leader. In fact, he wasn't truly even an official member of Star Fox anymore. He was merely an advisor.


	3. A new Teacher Sort of

Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing of Starfox. Starfox is © Nintendo.

Krin Shorem, Herald Ripper, Jon, and Kyle are © me.

Chapter 3: A New Teacher. Sort of.

Krin, Fox, and Krystal had docked their arwings, and now the three of them walked briskly towards the main bridge.

"I really hope you know what you're doing." Krin said to Fox, sounding very unenthusiastic.

"Don't worry." Fox said, as they neared the larger than normal door. "I'm sure they'll understand your predicament." "_I almost hope not, though." _He added to himself in his mind.

Krystal looked at Fox, having read his mind. She whispered in his ear, "He's not a bad person, Fox. Just give him a chance."

Fox nodded to her as they walked through the door. Krin walked just right so he wasn't really seen by the three men standing in the center of the control room. One was the wolf they had seen earlier, Herald Ripper. The other two were dingoes, both of which were privates, probably out for space experience. As soon as Krin stepped into view, Herald's hand flew to the gun holster at his waist.

"It's okay Herald. He's with us." Fox said swiftly.

"He's with you?!" Herald was shocked, and sort of frightened at this. "But, he's supposed to be dangerous."

"Only when angered, and I don't let that happen often." Krin stated simply, showing absolutely no hostile intent. "I just wanted off that planet."

"Why the hell are you guys even trusting this guy?" Herald asked Fox and Krystal.

"He isn't planning to do anything bad." Krystal said, "In fact, he says he was framed."

Fox nodded in agreement. "Besides, the most he's done to us these past three days is annoy us with rude and sarcastic comments."

"How could he have been framed? His face was caught clearly on the surveillance cameras." Herald said, making both Fox and Krystal look at Krin.

"I have a twin brother. I just don't know where he is." Krin said, "If I knew that, I wouldn't have run. I would've just come outright and told you, but I don't know where he is, and I have no clues as to where he could be right now."

"And how do we know you aren't lying?" Herald asked, glaring. Krin just sighed and looked at Krystal.

She blinked, "He really does. His name's Nerik." Krin just nodded, a bored, but still annoyed, look on his face.

"She can read minds." Fox told Herald, who was looking severely confused. "Of course, you would already know that if you read profiles."

Herald looked down. "Sorry. I just don't want anything to happen. We're still in the midst of repairs from the aparoid attacks." He seemed to completely forget that he was a lieutenant, whereas Fox was just a mercenary.

"Don't be so mean, Fox." Krystal said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They're the ones taking us home, remember?"

"You're right, Krystal. Sorry about that Herald." Fox sighed.

"So, when does this chunk of metal start moving?" Krin asked, "I'm getting a little impatient, and I'd like to start finding clues."

"This isn't just a chunk of metal." Herald said, indignantly, then turned to the two privates. "Jon, Kyle, let's head home." The two dingoes hurriedly went to the controls, punching in coordinates and other such things. Within 30 seconds, the ships engines could be heard, beginning to push the ship along through space.

Corneria:

Peppy strode swiftly along the streets of Corneria City, heading towards the docking stations. After what General Pepper had told him, he couldn't hide this new information from the team. It also weighed heavily upon him that he must tell Fox as soon as possible. "Why did Tricky have to call those two away?" Peppy muttered to himself as he neared dock four.

As he stepped inside the bay, he couldn't help but be impressed with the finished, and almost functional, Great Fox II. He watched, as Slippy closed an electronics hatch above the top right wing. Before he could step forward, Falco seemed to appear in front of him.

"Hey Gramps. Finally made it out here, eh?" Falco said, smirking.

"Oh, Falco. I'm surprised to see you helping." Peppy said, making the avian scowl. "I was just talking to General Pepper. Apparently, there have been strange things happening on Venom."

Falco raised an eyebrow. "What kinda strange things?"

Peppy waved his hand through the air aimlessly, saying, "Oh, just disappearing science vessels and retrieval crafts, space fighters patrolling the planet. Those kind of strange things."

"That means **another** mission, doesn't it?" Falco asked irritably. Peppy nodded. "Just GREAT. We just got back, too."

"What's up?" Slippy asked, coming in hearing distance and noticing Falco's annoyance.

"Venom is going on the offensive… Again." Peppy said.

"Venom? But Andross is dead!" Slippy said, disbelievingly.

"It's **obviously** someone else, Toad." Falco said, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, a familiar female voice spoke up. "What's going on over here, huh guys?" Falco was the first the first to turn and see Katt Monroe standing there with a smug grin on her face.

"Katt? What're you doing here?" He said, blinking.

"I just came by to say hello." She said, moving towards Falco a little bit.

Peppy laughed, "Well, we were just talking about recent events."

"Hmm… Is it something I could pull you away from?" She asked slyly.

Peppy, having experience with how women think, picked up on what she was thinking, and nodded. "Go ahead." He said, simply.

Katt smiled and said, "Come on, Falco," dragging him away by the wing.

"What was all that about?" Slippy asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh, nothing." Peppy said, laughing, "Nothing at all."

CDF ship:

Krin sat in a chair, going through different battle scenarios in his head, having gotten bored of insulting the officers onboard, and being unable to find Fox or Krystal. He figured they had locked themselves in a room for a little 'private time'. He continued going through scenarios, until one of the privates, Kyle, came up to him and asked nervously, "W-what are you doing?"

"I'm going through battle scenarios. Do you have a holodeck on this ship?"

"Yeah. Want me to take you to it?"

"That'd be nice. It's much easier than playing it out in your mind." Krin said, getting up. He followed Kyle down a few halls to the holodeck, and said, "Thanks," as he stepped into one of the simulators. The simulators themselves were similar to the cockpits of any standard fighter with multiple control setups for a variation of ships. There was also a screen for people to watch the current pilot's status in their mission. The 'cockpit' closed around Krin, and a menu appeared, giving several different options. There were flight tutorials, flight tests, combat tutorials, combat maneuvers, combat tactics, combat practice, and an overall test. Krin went ahead and entered the combat practice mode, and set the number of kills to 300.

Then a planet selection screen appeared. He chose Katina. Then, the type of craft, to which he chose the Arwing. Finally, the screen went black, and a digital representation of one of the outposts on Katina appeared, currently empty. A new window appeared, asking Krin to choose his difficulty level. Without hesitation, he chose Hard. The window moved off the screen, and 300 air and ground units of all varieties appeared. Krin smirked involuntarily, and began blowing enemies out of the air, while barrel rolling to get rid of shots fired at him. He annihilated enemy after enemy, bringing his kill count to a swift 40.

Five enemies got on his tail, trying to lock onto him, so he quickly did a loop, taking the opportunity to fire a nova bomb at the ground. This brought his count up an extra 25, for a total of 65, taking out 20 ground targets, and the 5 craft that had been on his tail. He then resumed increasing his kill score with regular laser fire.

About 20 minutes later, there were only 13 enemies left. 5 were in the air, with the other 8 on the ground. The ground targets happened to all be clustered together, so Krin unleashed the last of his three nova bombs and destroyed all 8 of them. Then, he turned his attention to the 5 fighters. All of them were low armored, high attack power bolt ships, so Krin wasn't worried at all. He shot two of them down before they could get away, and pulled an immelman turn, catching the other 3 as they flew by before correcting his flight position. A large 'Mission Accomplished' scrolled across the screen, and the cockpit opened.

As Krin stepped out, he noticed that Kyle was staring at the screen which still showed Krin's battle stats. He had taken out all 300 enemies while only getting hit 7 times, on Hard mode, in other words, a full simulation. The private's mouth was gaping, but he closed it as he noticed Krin regarding him with a raised eyebrow.

"H-h-how did you do that?" Kyle managed to stammer.

Krin laughed, seeing the young soldiers astonishment, "Carefully." He said it so simply, as though his accomplishment was nothing, even though it took him nearly 25 minutes to destroy all the targets.

"Y-you just took out 300 enemies on HARD, without hardly getting hit!" Kyle said loudly.

"It's not that big of a deal. I'm just used to flying." Krin said, walking past the astonished private to head back to the control room. Suddenly, Krin heard a 'thud' behind him, and turned around to see Kyle lying on the floor, unconscious. "Great. Now I have to drag the fool to the medical deck." Krin threw the passed out private over his shoulder, and proceeded to walk towards that area.

When he got there, he was greeted by the other private, Jon, who was cleaning things up, unnecessarily. "What the? What did you do?" Jon asked, obviously afraid.

"Relax. He just passed out after I did an exercise in the simulators." Krin said, chuckling.

"What? Kyle only passes if he sees something unbelievable. What were you doing?" Jon asked, as Krin placed the still unconscious Kyle on a bed.

"I took out 300 bots on Hard. It's not that big of an accomplishment." Krin replied, stepping back.

"And how many hits did you take?"

"I'd say about 7. I've done better."

Jon stared a moment, then his mouth dropped. "You only got hit 7 times?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Krin sighed heavily. "I'm just gonna shut up." He walked out of the room, and walked swiftly towards the command room. He moved through the halls, already having learned the ship fairly well in his short amount of time there. As he entered the command room, he found Fox, Krystal, and Herald waiting for him. He blinked in surprise and said, "Hey look, a welcoming party."

Herald raised an eyebrow, "Not quite. We watched your simulation."

"Your piloting skills are impressive." Fox took over, "I wouldn't be surprised if you could provide a decent amount of help with some of our missions."

"What're you implying?" Krin asked, knowing something was up.

"If you were to clear your name, I wouldn't mind having you as a member of the team." Fox said. Krystal nodded her agreement.

'There has to be some sort of ulterior motive here.' Krin thought. As soon as he did so, Krystal shook her head. Krin sighed and said, "What would be in it for me?"

"You'd have a place to stay, the necessities like food and water, those kinds of things." Fox said, "And you wouldn't have to worry about finding ways to get them."

"I suppose that'd be good enough. So, what's our ETA for Corneria?"

"About 24 hours." Herald said quickly. "Where are Jon and Kyle by the way?"

"Kyle is unconscious because he passed out about my simulation, and Jon is taking care of him." Krin said, simply. "Anyway, I'm heading to bed. I'm tired." He left the command room before anyone could say otherwise, and headed straight to his room. 'They think I'd be good for the team, eh? They don't know what they're talking about.' Krin thought, sitting on his bed. Suddenly, the door opened, and Krystal walked in. "Yeah?"

"I want to talk to you." Krystal said, closing the door behind her and standing in the middle of the room. "About your powers."

"Alright. What about them?" Krin was immediately interested.

"Well, I don't want Fox to know about this, but I want to teach you to control them. Maybe you'd become a better warrior, but I don't really care about that. Your ability just intrigues me so much." Krystal said.

Krin blinked at this sudden opening. "Alright. I'm just as interested as you." He stood up, facing Krystal.

"You don't mind not telling Fox that I'm teaching you this?" Krystal seemed worried.

"Of course I won't. I've held enough secrets in my lifetime to know how important some things are." Krin almost snorted.

"Thank you. I don't know how he'd react. I want to get started as soon as possible."

"Alright. I'm ready whenever. Even if you'd prefer right now." Krin was actually getting a bit excited. Rarely did he get the chance to learn something new.

Krystal gave a half smile and said, "The sooner the better. I really want to sate this curiosity. Now, get into a meditative state."

Krin nodded, sitting down cross-legged, and closing his eyes, swiftly entering a state of physical unawareness. Suddenly, an image of Krystal appeared in his mind, and walked towards him and spoke.

"Alright. Now, it will be much easier to teach you inside your own consciousness." Krystal said calmly, hiding her excitement. "First, we have to identify where the power is."

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Krin asked, figuring that this would be at least a somewhat of a difficult task.

"Well, let me figure that out." Krystal said. Her astral form faded slightly, then reappeared. "That wasn't very hard. It's in the same location as mine."

Krin blinked, slightly taken aback. "Wait, that was it? No grueling exercises or anything?"

Krystal shook her head. "No, but you'll have to focus to access it. It may take a while, so we can continue tomorrow. I don't want Fox to worry."

"Understandable. I'll work at it." Krin said, nodding. Krystal's astral form disappeared, and Krin brought himself back to the physical realm, where Krystal was standing up. "Thanks for helping me out with this. I don't want to have to lose focus again."

Krystal nodded, smiling, "Glad I could help. Though it was really mostly through my curiosity of your ability." She walked out, heading to her room. A few seconds after the door closed, Krin heard a voice outside call her name.


	4. No Use in Asking

Chapter 4: No Use in Asking

_Krin Shorem, Tout Reck, Herald Ripper, Jon, and Kyle are © me._

_All other characters and most if not all vehicles are © Nintendo._

_Dinosaur language will be spoken at some points in this chapter, but translations will be provided. It's just fun to read, and makes it known that no one else is going to understand a single word said._

_Side note: For the first several things Krin says in Saurian, just assume that he pauses to think and stutters slightly. I didn't feel like adding those little bits, because it would just be annoying._

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Krin was laying down on his bed, hands behind his head, humming to himself. He was so pleased that he was being taught how to control the strange power he had, that at first he didn't notice the book and note that were on his nightstand that weren't there before. What brought his attention to it was hearing more voices in the hall. When he looked towards the door, he noticed the green tinged, leather bound book lying on the table, a note sitting on top of it. He reached over and picked up the note. Before anything, he checked who it was from, and found that it was Krystal who had left it there.

The note read:

_Krin,_

_This book is to help you learn the language of the dinosaurs on Sauria. I feel that the others wouldn't like that I was helping with you with your ability, and I think we need to be able to speak freely about it. That is why I want you to learn Saurian. It is so that we can speak of your training without anyone understanding us._

_Krystal_

'Well, that was short and sweet.' Krin thought. He opened the book, and saw a short explanation. Apparently, Saurian wouldn't be as hard as he thought to learn. He immediately began to read, slowly learning the language of the dinosaurs. He had barely learned the rules of the language when a knock came at the door.

Krin smiled, and decided he'd try to answer in dinosaur, looking at a small phrase guide at the back, "Nxe aj ak? (who is it?)" He called. He heard a quick giggle from the other side of the door, and knew it was Krystal.

"Ak'j Krystal. Mu0 A semo ad? (It's Krystal. May I come in?)" She asked politely.

Krin looked back at the book, just barely understanding Krystal, and said, "Ev seihjo. (Of course.)" Krystal entered the room.

"I see you're already picking up on it. Good." She said, smiling.

"I'm good with languages." Krin replied. "I don't know why, I just am."

"Nocc, A'm amfhojjot (Well, I'm impressed). You'll be able to hold a conversation yet." Krystal said.

"Thanks. Still got a ways to go though." Krin said.

"Well, I just came down here to tell you that dinner's ready. Everyone else is already in the dining room." Krystal smiled, heading back to the hall.

"Righto. I'll be up in a minute. Ted'k jkuhk nakxeik mo (Don't start without me)." Krin said, laughing. Krystal laughed and walked out. Krin got up, and began heading towards the hall, then realized the book was still in his hand. He threw it to his bed, and headed towards the dining room. When he arrived, dinner was already set out, and everyone was waiting. Dinner consisted of Salisbury steak, potatoes, gravy, green beans, and corn.

"You certainly took your sweet time." Herald said, annoyed.

"Oh shut up. I was reading." Krin said, sitting down.

"You read?" Fox asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It passes time. Now can we eat?" Krin looked at the food on the table with a sort of hungry look in his eyes.

"Yeah, now that you're here." Herald said, grabbing the mashed potatoes and plopping some on his plate. As they commenced eating, conversations broke out amongst them. Krin happened to be sitting between Krystal and Herald, staying quiet.

Krystal leaned over to him slightly and said, "Neict 0ei cabo ke tajsijj 0eih khuadadw? (Would you like to discuss your training?)"

Krin nodded, "Sohkuadc0. Rokkoh kxud cajkodadw ke kxaoh thurrco. (Certainly. Better than listening to their drabble.) A ted'k misx suho veh kxo macakuh0. (I don't much care for the military.)"

"Doakxoh te A. (Neither do I.)" Krystal said, "Rik A jkacc nudk ke jku0 nakx Fox. (But I still want to stay with Fox.)"

"Hawxk. Je, nxuk opuskc0 um A ceebadw veh nxod A odkoh m0 jirsedjsaeij? (Right. So, what exactly am I looking for when I enter my subconscious?)" Krin asked, swiftly changing the subject to the topic of interest.

Krystal looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then said, "Ak jxeict ceeb cabo u cuhwo, secehvicc ximf. Xenoloh, ak tofodtj ed kxo fohjed. (It should look like a large, colorful hump. However, it depends on the person.)"

Krin looked up momentarily to see Jon looking at them, confused. He glared, making the private go back to his food, then said, "Uchawxk, je nxuk um A jiffejot ke te nxakx ak nxod A vadt ak? (Alright, so what am I supposed to do with it when I find it?)"

"0ei rhoub ak efod. Ak'j xuhtoh kxud ak jeidtj. (You break it open. It's harder than it sounds.)" Krystal began, "Veh mo, ak keeb douhc0 xucv ud xeih. (For me, it took nearly half an hour.)"

Krin looked almost confused. "Nx0 neict A rhoib ak? (Why would I break it?)" As he said this, everyone else had finished their meals, whereas Krin and Krystal were only almost finished. Krin, noticing this, turned swiftly to his food and ate the last bit of his dinner.

Krystal, understanding his actions perfectly, finished hers as well, just in time for Fox to whisper in her ear, "I want to talk to you about something. I'll be waiting in my room."

As Fox began to leave, he passed behind Krin, and had half a mind to attack him, not even knowing the reason for the urge. He didn't know that Krin had already done as he was told, and could sense the possible threat.

Then, Krin felt something else. It was a large, impending danger, and it was close. That was about when he knew that he had succeeded in unlocking the power. He tensed up, and right before Fox or Krystal could ask what was wrong, the alarm went off. A metallic voice was then heard over the speaker-system.

"Incoming enemies. Report to battlestations." The voice said.

Herald ran back into the dining area, and practically yelled, "Fox, Krystal, Krin! Get to the docks! I'm not letting Jon or Kyle out there, and we need as many people as we can get. There's practically a fleet headed straight for us!

Krin sighed, and stood up along with Krystal, and followed behind the other three as they ran down to the docking bay. They each jumped into a Cornerian fighter, and launched as fast as they could.

Krin glowered at his controls, annoyed at having to use such a low quality fighter. He turned along with the others to head straight at the enemy, bypassing the lock system to change the controls as he went, setting them up differently, and to increase the sensitivity of his flight stick. As they approached the enemy squadrons, they noticed just how many there were. A massive contingent of war shuttles were heading towards them, weapons ready.

Fox, leading their own 4 fighter formation glared at the enemy lines. "Alright team, let's get this over with. If you're fighter takes too much damage, bail out. If you still have enough shields for a few more hits, you do not bail out. Keep fighting until you have to leave. Then, get repaired as fast as possible. Herald, are Jon and Kyle sending a distress signal?"

"Yeah, they are." Herald replied. "Hopefully we'll have back-up soon."

Somewhere near the battle:

A single Cornerian fighter with a flame paintjob hovered in place, watching as 4 ships headed into the throng of nearly two thousand. A smirk formed on the face of the white wolf inside. His communications line came up, and the head of a grey wolf appeared on his holo-screen.

"What are you doing Tout? We want to see just how good of a pilot you are. Don't just sit there, take out that 4 fighter formation!" The wolf shouted.

"Alright, alright." Tout said calmly, "I'm on it." He activated his engines, and blasted towards the action.

TO BE CONTINUED… (don't you just hate cliffhangers?)


	5. The First Battle

_Krin, Herald, Tout, Jon, Kyle, and the modified vehicles are © Me._

_Everything else is © Nintendo._

_This chapter will include the aftermath of the battle as well._

Chapter 5: The First Battle

Fox flung himself headlong into the innumerable enemy planes, with Krystal, Krin, and Herald close on his tail. They were blasting ship after ship, not holding back, and pushing the Cornerian crafts to their limits. They all evaded the enemies' fire with relative ease, especially Krin.

"Heads up. New bogey on radar." Fox said, his voice cutting through the wild destruction.

"I see him. I'll go engage the guy. You guys can stick here if you want." Krin said, turning his fighter towards the target.

* * *

Tout flew into the throng of space fighters, heading into where the 4-man squad was. He noticed one of them turn towards him, and smiled. "Let the hunt begin." He said to himself. He boosted towards his targets, hands held loosely on the controls.

* * *

Krin laughed to himself, seeing the new opponent boosting straight at him. "Let's play chicken." He said quietly to himself, working on opening a communications line with the other fighter. The line opened as the two fighters came closer to each other. The wolf's head appeared in Krin's holo-screen, and smiled.

"You like chicken, eh?" the wolf said, chuckling.

"Let's play." Krin replied quickly, an evil grin crossing his face.

The wolf laughed, "I know the tactic. If you don't turn away, I'll just clip your wing."

Krin blinked, "So, another who knows what they're doing. How fun." As Krin said this, they were getting dangerously close, and both ships turned away, knowing that neither would win that game. They came back, Krin managing to get behind the wolf. As he was about to lock on, the wolf did a loop, going out of Krin's viewfinder. Krin pulled an immelman turn, then turned around quickly, spotting the wolf's ship immediately.

"You're the first opponent that's actually given me a challenge for a while. What's your name, wolf?" Krin said, firing a few lasers which were avoided rather lazily.

"I am Tout Reck. Star Wolf sent me out here to see if I was worthy to join them." The wolf said.

"Funny, cause I'm out here for Star Fox." Krin said, then blinked, "Wait a minute. Your name is Dead Bolt?"

"What?! My name is Tout Reck! Not Dead Bolt. What is wrong with you?" Tout shouted.

Krin laughed again, now trailing Kiru rather easily. "Yeah. That means Dead Bolt in Saurian." Tout growled, severely annoyed. Krin now had a lock, and fired off a laser blast, which hit its mark dead on. The communication line closed as the now severely damaged fighter fled. "Happy hunting, jackass." Krin said at the ship.

Tout was beating himself up mentally at having lost concentration because of a few insults. He sighed, deciding it best to just not worry about it.

Krin chuckled to himself at his witty victory, and then returned to helping the others out with the large armada. They were surrounded by enemy ships still, but were swiftly cutting through. Krin joined in the battle, destroying a ship that was trailing Fox, and continuing on to destroy several more.

About half an hour later, Krystal and Herald's shields were dangerously low, where as Krin and Fox still had yet to get hit.

"Go get yourselves fixed up. We can handle it by ourselves for a bit." Fox said, firing his second nova bomb. It exploded, taking out a very large number of enemy vessels. Krystal nodded, not very happy to leave the two of them by themselves, and she and Herald flew back to the carrier.

Krin smirked, and said, "Why don't we turn our kill counters on?"

"Sure." Fox said, hitting a few buttons. Krin did the same, and began firing lasers into the largest groups of enemies he could find. Both kill counters were increasing rapidly as they competed to see who could shoot down more ships before the other two returned. Because of this new competition, both vulpines were getting dangerously efficient, and soon there weren't a whole lot of ships left. Krystal and Herald came back, their shields recharged.

Fox and Krin opened a temporary private channel, and Krin asked, "How many did you get?"

"Three-hundred seventy-six. You?"

"Four-hundred twenty-five. Nice try Fox." Krin smirked, and closed the private line, going back to the open channel.

Within the next 4 minutes, they cleaned up the last remaining fighters, then flew back to the carrier. All of them were worn out from the battle, but Fox and Krin even more-so due to not having to come back for repairs at all. As they exited the fighters, Krystal gave a look of concern to the two fatigued vulpines.

Krin looked at Krystal, then at Fox, and realized just how tired he was. He laughed weakly, and his world went black. Fox looked at Krin, and managed to look at Krystal before he too passed out from exhaustion. Krystal managed to catch Fox before he hit the steel floor, but wasn't ready for his dead weight, and collapsed, laying on top of him, but getting up quickly, blushing slightly under her fur.

Herald sighed, and picked up Krin, then used his communicator to tell the privates to get down and get Fox. Jon and Kyle were in the hanger in no time flat, and picked up Fox, honored just to be helping slightly. They all headed to the medical deck, and Fox and Krin were placed on two of the beds. Krystal sat next to Fox, worried.

Herald watched as the two lay on the beds, looking at their chests rising and falling. Satisfied that all was well, he left the ward, and headed to his room to sleep.

Corneria:

"How soon will the Great Fox be ready for launch?" General Pepper asked Slippy, an unusual amount of seriousness in his voice.

"In about two hours. What's up?" Slippy replied, concerned that Fox and Krystal may be hurt.

"The vessel that is transporting Fox and Krystal was recently attacked." Slippy gasped, but Pepper continued before he could say anything, "Private Kyle Muclo sent me the report. The enemy was fended off, but there may be more."

"We need to get out there then. I'll try and get preparations sped up. With luck, we can cut the production time in half." Slippy said, and turned swiftly to head back to the dock where the Great Fox was almost ready.

Some random, undisclosed location:

Tout walked into a shabby shack, his usual bored expression plastered on his face.

"Did you complete the mission? I noticed that your communications line went dead." Said A grey wolf that was sitting at other side of the shack.

"Actually Wolf, no I didn't. One of the bastards snuck up on me while I was trying to get a lock." Tout replied.

"You didn't get rid of them?!" Wolf yelled furiously.

Kiru maintained his air, and stated, "Like I said, one of them snuck up while I was trying to get a lock." The way he said it, it seemed undeniable, even though Kiru himself knew that it was a flat lie.  
Wolf glared at him, speaking in a harsh tone, "And why would that stop you from taking them out?"

"If you'd seen my ship, you would understand. If you had actually given me shields, it wouldn't be a problem." Tout spoke as if he didn't actually care.

Wolf laughed coldly. "If you can't take out 4 craft, you don't deserve to be on this team."

Tout shrugged and walked away, saying back as he left, "You'll regret that decision. I can guarantee it." He walked to his still damaged ship, shaking his head. After he climbed in and closed the cockpit, he activated the voice recognition circuit he had made. "Auto-pilot on. Locate Great Fox and move within 20 miles of its coordinates. Set alarm for the deactivation of auto-pilot." He stated clearly to the ship. It lifted off, and rocketed out of the atmosphere, heading towards Corneria. Tout reclined his seat, and fell asleep.

(I wonder how Krin will react. Find out next time!!!)

(A/N: The next three chapters will be in first person view. Chapter 6: Fox; Chapter 7: Krin; Chapter 8: Krystal. Hope you enjoy them.)


	6. A Strange Welcome

_Krin, Herald, Kiru, Jon, Kyle, and modified vehicles are © me._

_Everything else is © Nintendo._

_This chapter is First-Person view for Fox. He thinks about Krystal a lot, so be warned._

Chapter 6: A Strange Welcome

I opened my eyes slowly, the dark ceiling of the ward gradually coming into focus. I was partially aware of a weight on my stomach, and lifted my head groggily to see Krystal lying there, asleep.

_Was she really that worried about me? _I asked myself, surprised. I plopped my head back onto the soft pillow, and sighed lightly. _Maybe she would love me back, if I told her my feelings. _I thought wistfully. He sighed again, _But, I doubt that's really gonna happen. I'm sure she just thinks of me as a friend and leader. Not someone to fall in love with._

I lay there, thinking it over, when I heard a groan fairly nearby. _Oh great. Now Krin is awake. _I really didn't feel like taking any crap from him today. Apart from getting nearly 75 less kills than him in the battle, Krystal's sleeping on me. That's enough ammunition for him for a month.

I looked over to see him getting up, and quickly acted like I was still asleep, accidentally dozing off again.

When I came to, Krystal was still there, but now she wasn't sleeping. She was standing with a concerned expression on her face. When I sat up, Krystal yelped slightly in surprise, having not really been looking at me.

"Fox! You're alright!" She said, seeming obviously relieved.

"Of course I'm alright. I was just really tired, that's all." I replied, trying to sound as soothing as possible.

"You had me worried. Krin got up a while ago." Krystal said.

"I saw him get up. Then I dozed off again." I was struggling with myself. I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to sound like a complete ass. I stumbled around words in my head, and jumped as Krystal spoke again.

"We're going to be back on Corneria in a couple hours. You should probably get ready." She hesitated slightly, looking on the verge of saying something more, but walked out.

I sighed. I just missed another chance. If I kept missing chances like this, I'd be out before I knew it. I got up, going to my room to get changed. I put on some of my semi-formal clothes, and headed up to the bridge. _I have to tell her soon. _I thought. I found everyone, including a none-too-excited Krin, waiting there.

"So, you're up." Herald said. "Good. We'll be arriving soon."

I just nodded, trying to think of an inconspicuous way to speak with Krystal alone, and tell her just how I felt. My mind came up blank, and I was berating myself severely for not being able to think of something. Again, I jumped as she spoke, listening to every note of her beautiful voice.

"Fox? Is something wrong?" She said, concern flowing in her own melody. I was already entranced again.

"I'm fine, Krystal." I managed to say, becoming less aware of my surroundings, but more aware of the gorgeous vixen standing in front of me.

She looked at me strangely, as if she were surprised or confused about something, and asked, "Are you sure?"

It was at this moment that I snapped back to reality, and noticed that everyone was looking at me, and painfully aware that I was blushing severely. I looked down quickly, my hand automatically scratching the back of my head.

I thought quickly, and what came out of my mouth was, "I just spaced out. Sorry." Was that seriously the best I could come up with? I am so disappointed in myself right now. Why can't I just come out and say it? I mean, she's held my hand before. That makes it easy enough to believe that she likes me too.

Krystal pulled me with from the others to say, "You're acting strangely, Fox . What's on your mind?" This was the perfect opportunity, the exact moment I'd been waiting for.

A stuttered, unable to get the words out. I was becoming flustered at my own inability to speak. In the end, it was as if somebody were controlling me, and the words just came out.

"I-I love you, Krystal." I said. Her eyes went wide with surprise, and I felt my stomach begin to sink.

Then, as if to answer my prayers, she gave me a warm smile, and said, "I love you too, Fox." And she embraced me with her tender paws. Then, I was suddenly afraid to let go, afraid that this was all a dream. But it was real, as real as the aparoids, or Andross, or the fact that my father was dead. These bitter memories, mixed with the sweet sensation of knowing that Krystal loved me, produced tears in my eyes, which ran down my cheeks.

Suddenly, Harold spoke again. "We're about to dock. Get ready you two." We broke our embrace and looked at him, blushing. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind, and the others didn't seem to notice.

I nodded to him, and walked with a new stride towards the front of the bridge. I watched anxiously as Corneria came closer and closer.

_How many times have I landed here? _I thought, _How many times have I docked, just to receive a new mission and fly out again, ready to risk my life. If I had failed at just one mission, I would have died, and never been able to meet this wonderful vixen. _I didn't want to think about it right then. Period.

I waited patiently as the ship completed its entrance into the atmosphere, and the docks became more and more defined. I looked at Krystal, who looked to be staring dreamily at the ocean around Corneria City. We slowed to a hover over the docks, and the ship went downward slowly.

The ship stopped, and the anti-gravitational generators kept it from falling to the ground. The ship's ramp was clearly heard hitting the metal of the dock floor. We stepped out of the bridge, and walked through the corridors down to the ship's ramp. We saw our teammates, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy, along with General Pepper. However, before we were able to say anything, a strange black-furred fox leapt out, actually, over the general. The fox looked astonishingly like Krin, except he had bright blue eyes instead of green.

"What the hell are you doing here, Krin?!" The fox yelled, a look of anger crossing his face. I blinked, unsure of what to make of this, but Krin just walked forward, rolling is eyes.

"Just seeing what information I can scrounge out about Nerik's stupid crime." Krin replied, looking annoyed, and somehow frightened.

_Krin, afraid? _I thought, _There's something you don't see every day. _

Apparently, everyone else was just as surprised as I, as they were just staring at the fox that glowered at Krin. I knew I had to step in, and so my leader's instincts took over.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked forcefully. Krin and the other fox looked at me.

"I'm sorry." The other fox said, and took a deep breath to calm himself, "I am Krin's brother, Century. I came here out of mere curiosity, wanting to know just what happened to the Great Fox."

"Well, Century, you certainly didn't choose the proper way to do it." I said, as Krystal came to stand next to me.

Suddenly, Century's attention was drawn to Krystal instead of me. "P-princess?" he stammered.

Krystal gasped, putting her hand over her mouth, while I allowed a look of confusion to dominate my features. "How did you know about that?" She asked, seeming frightened. I put my arm around her to comfort her, and she leaned into me.

"I may be of the moon clans, but I worked for your father." Century said, "I was greatly saddened when his majesty sent me away, only to have me watch our beautiful home explode."

"But, why would my father work with the moon clans?" Krystal asked.

"He wanted peace. He created a secret guard consisting of people of the moon clans to help achieve that. It is just a pity that his dreams were not realized before the end of our planet." Century said. "But, now that he's moved on to the other life, it is my duty to protect you."

"I appreciate it, but I can protect myself." Krystal replied, a sad expression coming across her beautiful face.

"Then, at least allow me to work with you." Century said. "I'm sure it is what your father would have wanted."

Krystal looked at me, and asked, "Do you think it would be all right?"

"I'm fine with it, as long as he can hold his own in combat." I replied. I turned to Century, and said, "I'll have to test you."

"Test me in what ways?" he asked me.

"In combat, of course," I said, simply. "Follow me to the simulation room."

"Fox, we need you back in the air as soon as possible." General Pepper said, startling everyone. "A new force has manifested itself upon Venom, and is threatening the Lylat."

"What?" I said, absolutely incredulous. "We just got here!"

"I know, and I'm sorry Fox." Pepper said, before I could continue. "You will be compensated for the extra work, but we must eradicate this new enemy before it has any more time to grow, and before it can make any more offensives. The Cornerian Defenses cannot withstand another attack right now."

I sighed heavily. "Alright." _And I won't even have time to be with Krystal, other than during missions. _"I'll test him quickly, and then we'll be off."


	7. Prerequisite to War

_Century and all the others previously mentioned as mine are © Me._

_Everything/Everyone else is © Nintendo._

_This chapter is in the first-person view, told from the perspective of Krin._

Chapter 7: Prerequisite to War

_I can't believe their letting Century on the team, _I thought to myself. _He's going to ruin all of my fun._

I was walking towards dock four, where the new Great Fox was stationed. As I entered the holding area, I had to stop and look in on the work of art that was the Great Fox II. The new metal gleamed under the numerous artificial lights on the ceiling.

I sighed heavily. I knew that I would have to share the ship with my brother, along with the other members of star fox, but I wasn't ready to accept that. I wanted to be alone. I would prefer to be alone. However, I also knew that life was never fair, and I would just have to deal with it. I strolled towards the open ramp, and entered the Great Fox.

I was in awe of the majestic ship. I navigated its innards, following the signs that had been conveniently placed. When I stepped into the hall containing the crews quarters, I found Slippy putting up nametags for each of the members of the Starfox team. He was on the first room, welding a brass tag to the wall with his ion melter. I looked on the floor and found six other tags lying there. One of them had my name on it. The only one currently missing from the pile was Fox, because Slippy was welding his nametag next to his door.

"Hey, Slip. Working overtime again?" I asked, adding my usual subtle sarcasm to my voice.

Slippy looked over at me and glared slightly, obviously still not trusting me. "Yes, I'm still working." He said. I smiled at his irritated response, and walked away, heading towards the bridge.

_Might as well have my fun while I can, _I thought, _before Century comes and takes it all away. _I found the bridge rather quickly, thanks to Slippy's signs. As I stepped through the door, my jaw almost dropped. It was so much bigger than I thought it would be. Monitors and radars filled the entirety of one of the walls. In front of the plexi-steel window was a 3D holo-map generator, which I was sure Slippy would modify somehow to try and make it better.

_This is an impressive ship, _I thought to myself. Having seen this brilliant ship myself, I lost interest, and decided to find something to eat down in the city. I began my trek through the hallways of the ship to the exit ramp. If not for the signs at almost every intersection, I would likely have gotten lost. However, with their help, I managed to navigate safely, passing by Slippy again on the way. He had already completed two other name-tags--Krystal's and Falco's—and was putting up Century's, who had insisted on being across the hall from Krystal, whose room was next to Fox's.

I chuckled to myself as I turned another corner. I found it amusing that those two were so obvious about liking each other. Even more amusing, was that neither of them seemed willing to show it openly. I had always been taught to just act like myself, especially around the people that I like. Unfortunately, I still have yet to find someone that suits me.

_Oh great, there I go again. I really don't need to be thinking about relationships. _I was berating myself rather harshly for such a minor mental slip up. I had never been the relationship type. I have always tried my best to focus solely on my work, and a relationship would only hinder that focus.

_But there have been those times, when I've been so lonely. _The thoughts intruded once again. This time, I couldn't keep them at bay. _If I could find someone like me, I wouldn't have to be so lonely all the time. I would have someone to talk to, who understands me. _Before I could stop myself, I was wandering the streets of Corneria City aimlessly. I just walked slowly down the sidewalks, watching a few females as they passed by, hardly even noticing my own actions anymore.

I was experiencing my most hated feeling again. I felt alone. I felt like there was no one out there who could possibly come to my rescue. _Or, at least, rescue me from this feeling. _It wasn't all that new to me, but it never ceased to bother me just how deep it went. It felt like I was falling into a 100ft pit. A pit I'd never escape. As I walked in front of a hotel, the feeling seemed to leave me as quickly as it came. I shivered slightly at the sudden change in mental state, and looked around at just where I was, which somehow happened to be in front of the hotel that was right across the street from the docks.

"Well, that's useful." I thought out loud. I made sure no vehicles were coming, and briskly crossed the street. Just as I reached the door, it opened, and there stood Fox, a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"Where have you been? We're ready to go." Fox said, glowering.

"I was taking a walk." I told him, simply enough, "Let's just hurry up." I followed Fox back into the building, and into dock 4 where the Great Fox II was ready and waiting. The ship looked even more majestic than before, finally floating of its own accord using its anti-gravitational generators. Fox and I stepped up the ramp, and it began to come up with the light hum of the automated latches. It shut with a clang, as I walked with Fox through the wide corridors of the new ship.

Everything gleamed, and I was impressed by the sight again, though I kept my face calm. We followed the signs that Slippy had conveniently placed, making our way to the bridge. The automatic door slid open with a soft hiss, and we stepped into the bridge, where all the others, including my brother, were waiting. I sighed, _No more fun for me._ My brother looked at me sternly as I sat in a chair opposite the large room from him. Fox said a few things to ROB that I didn't pay any attention to as I scanned over each of the members: Fox, the brave, natural leader; Slippy, the slightly cowardly, not so talented pilot, excellent engineer; Falco, ace pilot, stuck-up snob; Krystal, talented warrior, and a sight to behold; Peppy, the old hare with a head full of advice, whom I was surprised to see there; And finally, my brother, Century.

I spent an extra couple of seconds looking at Krystal, then sighed and leaned back as the ship began to lift from the ground. _And once again, I'm off to space, _I said to myself, closing my eyes.

---------

A/N: As you've probably noticed, I'm not really one for very long chapters. I hope this doesn't bother anyone, even though they're usually at least 900 words long. I've decided to do something that I've seen a few people do, and respond to reviews in my chapters. I'll start with the earliest, and go to the latest:

Chapter 1:

Notfromearth7-

Great Story! By the way it's not "Cornaria" it's "Corneria" I'm not flaming but this is to avoid future flames.  
Just a personal question WHY IS EVERY SF FANFIC CONSISTING OF AN OC NAMED KIN OR KRIN! The only thing I could think of is... OMG! There's another author here named Slappy McCracken. He hasn't ypdated in 2 yeats so i think he's dead  
Good story.

(Thank you for pointing out my error with Corneria. I can never remember how to spell that. As to the OC named Krin, I must say that was purely coincidence, and I had no idea many people used the name.)

SHONENX-

GREAT!

(Thanks. Though I would've kind of liked some feedback.)

Chapter 2:

StarVix-

This is good so far. Keep going!

(thank you… but I would like feedback. Feedback good.)


	8. An Odd Discovery

_IMPORTANT: Before anything else, I'm going to warn you all now. I am a guy, and therefore do not really understand how the female's mind works. At least, not very well. I will attempt to represent it as accurately as possible, and will not move on with my story until I have done so. If ANYONE has ANY suggestions to make this chapter better in ANY way, please do not hesitate to contact me. This especially pertains to female readers, as they'd know more about this stuff._

_Also, it has been overhauled since its original version, so it's a lot better than at first, IMO._

_Now, despite possible mess-ups, this was a rather fun chapter. I may not be a romance kind of guy, but there is a high possibility of more Fox-Krystal chapters in the future, and maybe more First-person chapters. Please, enjoy._

_All characters previously mentioned as mine are © me._

_Anything/anyone else is © Nintendo._

Chapter 8: An Odd Discovery

_All I knew was that I was running through darkness. Whether it was to or from something, I hadn't been sure; I just knew I had to keep running. My legs and lungs burned, and sweat was dampening my fur. Then, up ahead, I spotted a red-orange vulpine._

_"FOX!" I called. Though I had yelled with all my might, my voice seemed to come as barely a whisper. I tried again, with no result. As I got near, he turned to me, a look of sadness on his face. As I reached him, I threw my arms around him._

_"I love you Fox." I said, and then jumped back, my hands on his arms. "You're cold! Are you all right?" Then, as I let go, he fell to the ground, a knife in his back. I started screaming._

I bolted upright in my bed, breathing hard, cold sweat running down my muzzle. I clutched my hammering heart, trying to calm down. I jumped as there was a knock at my door, and Fox's voice came through. Apparently I hadn't just screamed in my dream.

"Are you okay, Krys?" He asked, and I knew just from his tone that he was concerned.

"I-I'm okay. You can come in, if you'd like." I tried to steady my breathing, still seeing that terrible image. My door opened, and Fox stepped in, wearing pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. He walked over to my bed, and sat down, looking at me worriedly. "It was just a nightmare, Fox." I said, trying to smile, but failing, still able to see the image of him with the knife in his back.

He put an arm around me. It was warm, and I snuggled into it, placing my head against his chest. "You sure you're alright?" Fox asked.

"No." I managed to say, my voice wavering slightly. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight. "It was awful."

"What happened?" He asked, holding me a bit closer. His embrace calmed me down a bit. I told him all about my dream, aware of tears rolling down my cheeks as I finished. He was silent, but pulled me in close. I cried quietly into his arms until the image faded. I sniffed and looked up at him. He gave me a warm smile, and said, "It's okay. I'm here. I won't let anything happen, to either of us." His words soothed me instantly, and I smiled.

I felt kind of silly for letting a simple nightmare scare me like that, but I don't know what I'd do if I lost Fox. I didn't want anything to happen to him, but I knew that danger was inevitable, just because we were mercenaries.

I kissed his cheek, making him blush slightly, and said, "I'm fine now, thanks to you." We shared a smile, and he gave me another warm hug.

"Well, I'll be in my room if you need anything else." He said, softly, and stood up. I didn't really want him to leave, but I knew what kind of things Falco and Krin would say if I asked him to keep me company. I didn't want Fox to get embarrassed like that.

I smiled as I watched him go back out into the corridor, and then looked at my clock. I was surprised to see that it read 3:45. It was at that moment that I realized that I was actually still rather tired. I lay my head back down on the pillow, and closed my eyes, drifting swiftly back into sleep.

I woke up again, and stretched, looking at the clock. "9:23. Good timing." I said to myself, yawning. I got out of bed, and went into the bathroom for my usual morning routine. As I was brushing my fangs, I thought of Fox, and how even from day one, we seemed the perfect match for each other. After I had finished with my fangs and spit the water into the sink, I picked up my brush, fixing my head-fur, while still thinking wistfully about Fox.

After a few minutes of undoing stubborn knots, I set the brush down, and looked at myself in the mirror, satisfied. We still had another day before we arrived at the intercept zone, so I decided I should make the most of it. I went back into the main bedroom area, and walked to my dresser. I looked at it momentarily, annoyed slightly by its dull look, as it was built into the alloy wall. I sighed, and pulled out a drawer, pulling out a pair of cargo pants, which seemed to be the norm for the entire team, including Peppy. I took a moment to sift through my shirts, and, not wanting to clash, settled for a white T-shirt with the word 'Princess' across the front. I found it kind of ironic, as it was meant to be sarcastic, and I happened to actually have been a princess. Then I sighed, as the memory of the day I left Cerinia came back.

I shook my head, putting the memory aside, and got dressed, then walked into the corridor. I headed towards the kitchen, glad that Slippy had decided to keep the general layout the same. There were new parts that I hadn't quite gotten to yet, but those could wait until later. The main reason for the additions was because the ship was built bigger to accommodate the increase in crew. "We do have more people now." I reminded myself, opening the kitchen door. Inside, I saw Fox sitting facing away from me, reading something. Apparently he hadn't noticed that I had come in. I smirked and crept up behind him, waiting for his tail to flick up. As it did so, I caught it lightly, and stroked it.

I had expected him to jump in surprise, but he didn't. Instead, he let out a long, drawn out purr. I blinked, and he looked at me, his face visibly red, even through his orange fur. Then, I just couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. Not one of my usual giggles when I find something funny, but true hysteria. I couldn't stop, even when I saw his ears droop.

It took me several minutes to contain myself, and I was rather surprised that no one else had heard me. Maybe they were all on the bridge. I looked up at Fox from my now squatting position, to see him still blushing. I smiled, and gave him a nice peck on the cheek, and he immediately straightened up.

"I… I didn't know I could do that…" He said, hanging his head slightly again.

"Well, don't worry. I'll allow you the comfort of knowing that Slippy and Falco will never find out." I said, smiling mischievously. Fox seemed to have forgotten about Peppy being on-board, as he gave a huge sigh of relief.

"They would've given me hell over that one." Fox said, chuckling nervously.

I stroked his cheek, "That's why I won't tell them." I said, softly. He smiled, and he relaxed slightly. "You don't have to worry about it, Fox."

"Thank you." He said, brushing his lips across my cheek. I felt my own cheeks glow slightly, and as he turned back to what he was reading, which, upon actually looking at it, turned out to be a newspaper, I decided I wanted to hear him purr one more time. Before I stood up, I stroked his tail once more, and to my pleasure, the involuntary growl of happiness escaped him once more. I giggled as he looked back at me, blushing again.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again." I said, still giggling, and turned to leave. As I walked out, I heard him chuckle, and decided it was worth investigating. I focused as I walked, and entered his mind.

"She is so gonna get it later." He was thinking at that particular moment. I retreated back to my own mind, startled slightly, and then wondered just what he meant by that. I walked towards the bridge, passing by all the bland, gray, alloy doors along the halls.

_That's the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoyed, and props to TrailerFlip for the whole 'purring' idea. It's in the story 'Fox and Krystal's Night Out'. It's a good story and you should read it. Now, for my responses to new reviews._

NotFromEarth7:

Good, The POV of Krin put your OC into perspective and I think this'll help the readers understand. Who in the world is Century?

(Thank you. Krin doesn't like being very emotional, but sometimes, he just can't help it. . And, as for who Century is, he's Krin's older brother, as it says near the end of chapter 6.)

IAmDaRuler:

Sorry, I can't offer any "good" feedback, but I do believe this is doing quite well. Keep up the good work, dude!  
P.S. I'll be waiting for the next chapter!

(Yay! More people saying it's going well. Lol. Thanks.)


	9. Before the Storm

_Sorry about the lack of updates. I haven't had a chance to work on this since school started, but that was a single contributor. This will be the last chapter done in 3__rd__ person view, as I'm taking the suggestion of Foxbird22. Anyway, on to the important stuff._

_This chapter doesn't have any action in it, but it has a real nice cliff hanger that I know most of you will hate. Lol. Anyway, enjoy the chapter for what it is._

_Also, if you look back at the last paragraph of chapter 7, you'll find a very definitive action taken by Krin. You'll see the importance of said action in upcoming chapters._

* * *

Chapter 9: Before the Storm 

There was little activity on the Great Fox, even on the bridge, where a majority of the team was assembled. Krin was sitting in a chair, staring blankly at Peppy, who was working on an improved map of the areas they'd visited. Century kept one of his piercing blue eyes on his younger brother at all times, making sure Krin didn't do anything. Slippy was, predictably enough, working on some new invention. Falco was no-where to be seen, though everyone knew he was probably sleeping in, and Fox and Krystal hadn't arrived yet either.

Century sighed inwardly to himself, coming to the conclusion that Krin wasn't in the mood to do anything out of the ordinary right now, and decided he should discuss the upcoming mission with Fox. He turned and began heading towards the door. Right before he came close enough for the automatic door to slide open, it opened anyway, revealing Krystal. She and Century nearly ran into each other, stopping just inches short, Krystal's muzzle almost running smack into Century's neck. Krystal had let off a soft yip of surprise, and Century just smiled, stepping to the side.

Before Krystal began moving forward again, a thought came to Century, and he said, "May I speak with you, Krystal?"

She gave him a questioning glance, forgetting momentarily that she was a telepath, and could easily read his mind and said, "Alright." Century just nodded, and headed into the halls, motioning for her to follow him. He led her to the briefing room, and after closing the door behind them, took a seat.

"What is this about?" Krystal asked, sitting down a few chairs away from Century.

"I'll get straight to my point. I've noticed you and Fox showing feelings towards each other. My only concern right now is how that may affect your abilities in combat. I have known some who's infatuation has actually helped them in combat, the other complimenting their partner. However, I've also seen those that distract. I am merely wondering as to which side of this spectrum you and Fox would lean towards." Century said, his voice calm and smooth.

Krystal blinked, surprised at Century's choice of topic. "It won't be a problem. Both Fox and I have been through enough to know what kind of repercussions getting distracted could cause."

"Good. Also, if you really want Fox to come out, guys tend to like it when females are a bit… provocative, if you understand my meaning." Century said, smirking ever so slightly as he stood up to leave. He hesitated momentarily before walking out the door, heading towards the kitchen.

Krystal walked slowly out the door, thinking about what Century had said. She found it rather odd that he had hesitated. Something just didn't seem to really add up. Was he beginning to develop feelings for her as well? She shook her head, dispelling the thought, walking back towards the bridge.

Krin watched through the plexi-steel window as a heavily damaged fighter craft approached. It looked familiar. In fact, it looked like the ship he'd beaten in the battle a while back. The one who said he'd been sent by Star Wolf.

"Request Comm. Link." Krin looked at Peppy, who had been speaking to ROB. A holo-image of a white wolf appeared above the hologram generator. Peppy looked at the wolf inquiringly.

"Tout Reck. Back for a rematch?" Krin asked, smirking.

"'Fraid not, kid." Tout said, "I'm here to talk to Fox McCloud."

Peppy stepped in, "Fox isn't on the bridge right now." As he said this, the door to the bridge opened, and Krystal and Fox walked in.

"Who is this?" Fox asked Peppy, an eyebrow raised.

Tout answered the question. "I am Tout Reck. I recently made a half-assed attempt to join Star Wolf, obviously failing, but I obtained some information you might find helpful in your upcoming battles with the Blood Claw Army that's recently erected itself on Venom."

"Blood Claw Army?" Fox said, "Well, come aboard, but be warned, we'll have our eyes on you. Try anything fancy, and we'll have you taking a permanent nap."

"Righto. Well, see you in a few minutes then." Tout said, and closed the communication line. He flew into the docking bay, making a not-so-graceful landing, and jumped out of the cockpit. Fox and the rest of the team came through the doors of the hanger and surrounded him. Fox eyed his damaged ship momentarily.

"Come on. We'll go to the briefing room, so you don't have any incentive to try and leave." Fox said. They led Tout through the corridors, going into the briefing room of the ship. "Now, what is this information you have?"

"Well, they have plans for a strike on Zoness in about a week. They intend to try and get rid of the main space fighter producers of the solar system." Tout said.

"Well, we need to stop that plan, no questions asked. But, how did you get a hold of this information?" Fox asked, eyeing Tout suspiciously.

"I'm sneaky like that. I grabbed a file while Wolf wasn't looking. Oh, he's been hired by them, by the way." Tout said nonchalantly.

"What?" Fox was genuinely surprised, as he himself hadn't even known if Wolf had lived through the final attack on the aparoids' home-world.

"The guy seems like he'll do pretty much anything for money. I don't understand how he keeps any morals at all." Tout said.

"That sounds like Wolf. He's definitely a strange one." Fox said, already formulating the plan in his mind. "So, we get to Zoness before they do, and we intercept the strike before it happens. While we're at it, we could probably do something about our slight lack of vehicles."

"Are you sure we'd have enough credits left for new arwings?" Peppy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If we don't, then we'll have to settle for something of a little lower caliber temporarily." Fox said, shrugging. "We need to have as many pilots as we can out there, and I already know that Century and Krin are both rather adept in the cockpit."

"Yes, but that's only part of the problem, Fox." Peppy sighed, "We don't know how many troops we'll be up against."

"Yes we do." Tout cut in. "They don't know that we know about their plan, so it's doubtful to be a very large force. They're just getting started, so they won't want to tire out too many soldiers just yet."

"Oh. Well, alright then." Peppy perked up a bit at this news, "I suppose we don't have to worry too much, considering what we've gone against. As long as their ships are fairly weak, we shouldn't have a problem."

"And again, they should be fairly weak, as their probably not expecting any real defenses." Tout chuckled.

Krin raised an eyebrow. "That sounds good enough, but I'm feeling something not quite right about it. Not about you, Tout, but about this mission." Krin had added that last sentence just as Tout gave him a meaningful glance.

"What do you mean?" Krystal asked.

"I don't know. Something just seems off about it." Krin shrugged, "But, whatever it is, it shouldn't be too difficult to handle." He walked away, sticking his hands into his pockets. He walked leisurely, heading to the simulation room.

"Well, I suppose that's settled then." Fox said, irritated that Krin had walked out. He looked around. "We won't be arriving for about 36 hours. Go ahead and rest, have fun, whatever. Just be ready for when we get there. Dismissed." Everyone except Fox and Krystal left the room. Century and Peppy headed to their rooms for some shut-eye. Slippy went to the hanger to make sure the arwings were all in good shape. Falco went to the simulation room. Tout simply wandered around to get to know the ship.

"Fox. I want to talk to you about something." Krystal said, shifting her hands under the table.

Fox turned to her with a quizzical look. "What's up, Krystal?"

"Well, it's something that Century had brought up with me earlier." Krystal said, failing to meet Fox's eye. "It's about our relationship."

"Wha? What about it?" Fox asked, clearly caught off guard by the topic.

"Century was worried that it might get in the way of our work. Do you think that?" Krystal's voice was quiet, and laced with anxiety.

"No. We have more self control than that. When we're out on the battlefield, we're always focused on the task at hand. It's not an issue." Fox said, his leader's tone returning.

"That's good to hear." Krystal said, standing up. She kissed Fox on the cheek as she left, leaving him sitting in the briefing room as she strolled towards the bridge.

Fox sighed, "I just hope what I said is true." He said to the air, standing up. He walked out of the room, closing the door as he exited, and strolled through the perpetually grey hallways. As he walked, he crossed paths with Century.

"Did you speak with her?" Century asked, completely out of the blue.

Fox stopped, and scrutinized Century a moment before nodding. "And why were you so worried about it? We're mercenaries, after all."

"A mercenary is useless if he can't at least contain his emotions temporarily, or use them to his own advantage." Century said, "I won't fight under a leader that lets his emotions control him."

"Well then, you have nothing to worry about." Fox said, then continued his stroll, his destination being the bridge.

"Good." Century also continued on his own way. He went to the simulation room, and entered, seeing that two of the four pods were already occupied. He decided to join in, hopping into the third. As the 'cockpit' closed, the other two were made aware of his presence, and their faces appeared on Century's screen. It was Krin and Falco that he'd be going against.

"Hey Century, come to get your tail whipped?" Krin asked, laughing.

"Shut it, Krin." Century said, starting up his simulation and entering the edge of the virtual battlefield.

"I've never seen brothers fight like you two do." Falco said, raising an eyebrow, "What's up with that?"

"Our personalities are too different." Century said, joining the two in the dogfight.

Krystal sat in a chair on the bridge, staring out into the blackness of space as she thought. She wasn't sure, but she thought she felt some sort of tension in Krin whenever he was around Fox. It made her wonder if Krin didn't like him.

She jumped as the door slid open, and turned to see Fox enter the room. She smiled, and he smiled back, seeming to have something on his mind. Fox walked over and sat in the chair next to Krystal's.

"What's up?" Krystal asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I was just thinking about what all was said in the briefing room. Tout didn't give any exact numbers, as well as revealing that, not only is Star Wolf still alive, but they're working with the enemy. And from what Krin said, I get the feeling we may have to go against them sooner rather than later." Fox sighed.

"You've defeated them before. What's so different about now?" Krystal gave him a worried look.

"The difference now is that we don't know what kind of things they've done to their ships, and we haven't really done anything new with the arwings in a while. Not to mention our lack of a full stock of them." Fox gazed out at the stars, looking for some sort of answer.

"Can't you think of something else? I know it's important, but it's difficult to see you upset." Krystal put her hand on Fox's, a sort of pleading look on her still worried face.

Fox looked at her, and said quietly, "I'm sorry Krystal. It's just hard for me. I don't want anyone to get hurt. Especially not you." Just as he said this, an explosion rocked the ship…

* * *

_Again, sorry for the cliffhanger. I just lost my thoughts for this chapter and had to cut it shorter than I would've liked. And I'm not going to go over reviews this time, but thank you to the people that did so. Next chapter is on its way._


	10. Familiar Faces

_Do I even have to say anything anymore? Just watch out for the POV switch, and enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 10: Familiar Faces

"What the hell was that?" I shouted as I ran through the door to the bridge. Fox and Krystal were sitting in front of the windows, turning to face me.

"We were hoping you could answer that question." Fox said, standing. "I'm sure you realize we're under attack. Me and Krystal are going to the hanger. Send Slippy and Falco down there when they arrive here." Without further ado, the two left, leaving me to turn to ROB.

"ROB, scan the enemy and give me a status report." My perpetually calm voice during battle ever surprising to myself. Several holo-screens appeared, displaying images of the almost legendary red/grey craft I didn't think I'd ever see. I turned as the bridge door opened, and immediately said, "Slippy, Falco. Get to your Arwings. Fox and Krystal are already out there."

As those words were uttered, Slippy and Falco simply nodded and left, leaving my brother to stand in the doorway with a raised eyebrow.

"And you're not going to help? Scared or something?" Krin said, a grin creeping across his face.

"Shove it. We've got no time for sarcasm." I growled as I turned to ROB again. "Keep the Great Fox on a steady course. Open a comm. link to the Arwings." Within seconds of this command, a connection was established. "It's Star Wolf." I announced shortly.

"So they survived after all." Fox said. I thought he sounded almost relieved to hear it.

"Come on! Let's kick their tails one more time." Falco practically shouted, not caring to hide his enthusiasm.

"Warp gate detected." Droned ROB, as a display was pulled into view. Looking at it, I saw a ship not too dissimilar to the Great Fox. Before I had further chance to inspect it, Wolf's voice came over the communications channel.

"Long time no see, Star Fox. I see you all managed to make it out in one piece." His speech gave away the fact that he was pleased with the fact, though his face remained stoic.

"Same to you, Wolf." Fox replied. Deciding to opt out of the conversation, I commenced scanning the opposing cruiser. As my fingers fluttered across the keyboard, displays and readouts began appearing upon the screen. The general design of the dreadnought-class carrier was almost identical to the Great Fox, and many of the on-board weapons were similar, with slight modification differences. The ship itself was slightly more streamlined than the Great Fox. Its main body was a deep red, its wings, white.

"I see you're friend has taken a liking to the Striker Wolf." Wolf told Fox, almost laughing.

"Is that what you call that thing? Looks more like a rip-off of the Great Fox." Fox replied. As I looked out the main window, I saw the battle raging between the two carriers. Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Krystal were constantly spinning, turning, and flipping, trying to gain the upper hand over Star Wolf, while Wolf, Leon, and Panther seemed to trail them with ease.

"Maybe I should've gotten my ship off of Katina." I said to myself, watching the battle closely.

"Panther's all over me. I can't get a reading on them or anything!" Slippy shouted, sounding anxious.

"I'll handle it." I offered, already inputting the commands. I swiftly scanned through the various weapon placements that had been added when the Great Fox was rebuilt, and found a suitable area, using it to lock onto Panther's Wolfen. As the lasers began to fire at the red and white ship, it pulled away, and I returned my attention to the others.

Fox and Wolf were flying in erratic patterns, each attempting to get the upper hand on the other, Falco was chasing down Leon, and Krystal was trailing Panther as Slippy hovered, scanning their ships.

Not wanting to drag this battle out, I turned to R.O.B. and said, "Set all focal guns to fire at the Wolfen nearest to them at any given second."

"Affirmative," came the robot's monotone response. Satisfied, I left the bridge with what I considered a brilliant plan.

* * *

Nothing I tried even got close to him. He seemed to be a completely different pilot. I snarled quietly as the Arwing again slipped out of my reticule. I debated a moment about revealing our new secret for a moment, then pushed a recently added button on the dashboard. As the four extra boosters slid out of their crevices, a hail of laser fire came from the Great Fox.

Not wanting too much damage to come upon my new ship at the moment, I growled, calling my team to retreat. "You win this time Fox. You're just lucky I have better things to do for now."

I flew back to my new carrier, landing easily within the large area. The glass around my cockpit hissed open, and I climbed out. Looking over the Wolfen, my mechanical eye scanned the damage, finding it not to be as bad as it looked. It really just consisted of some scorch marks anyway.

"Why did we retreat?" Panther asked, stepping out of his own cockpit. "We clearly had the upper hand."

"No we didn't, you fool. The Great Fox's cover fire would've drained our shields, leaving us wide open for attack." I growled, "Besides, I don't want these new ships getting too mangled just yet. We have a more important job to do."

_

* * *

Ooh. Double cliff-hanger? Really, I just got tired of not updating, and needed to add something. Anyway, enjoy. Hopefully I'll be able to work on this more, and update faster. I'm not dead yet! ^_^_


	11. The Plan

Chapter 11: The Plan

I pulled into the hanger, jumping out of the cockpit simultaneously with the others, and looked around. Something immediately caught me as being off, but I couldn't say what at first. Then it hit me. "One of the ships is gone." I muttered, staring directly at the blank spot.

"What's wrong?" Krystal asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"One of the Arwings is missing." I replied, turning to her. "I'm almost hoping it was Krin."

"Don't say that. He may have an annoying personality, but we all know he's a good fighter." Krystal said. "Besides, we might need that Arwing later."

"I know, but even so," I stated, but was interrupted as the hanger door opened. Krin stood in the passageway.

"Century left. I don't know why, but he got himself into the warp-stream of the other cruiser." Krin smirked as he said this, as though happy about it.

* * *

I held the controls steady, staying directly behind the carrier. I knew that if I fell out of the slipstream, I'd be torn to pieces. I didn't know how long the Arwing could hold outside of a carrier while in warp. Such a thing had never really been done before. The time seemed to drag on as I continually prevented the fighter from straying off coarse.

Before I knew what was happening, the warp field dissipated around me, and around the carrier in front of me. Due to the sudden loss of turbulence, my Arwing swerved, heading straight for a planet that I recognized immediately. What I didn't understand, was why Star Wolf had gone outside of the Lylat System.

Putting that aside, and noting that the carrier had slowed to a near stop, I began a quick descent towards the familiar planet. "Looks like I get to retrieve my own ship sooner than I thought." I chuckled to myself, beginning to feel the Arwing shaking slightly as I began entering the atmosphere.

* * *

"What was it!?" I shouted, not having any patience left after having been defeated once again. I stood in the bridge of the new team carrier, Leon stationed at the radar/scanner station, typing frantically, Panther at the controls, preventing the ship from deviating.

"The scanner says it was an Arwing, but I doubt it was Fox." Leon replied, his voice calm despite his rapid movements. "He wouldn't have just left us alone like that."

"Good point. I still want to know who that pilot is." I said after subduing my anger. "Get a tracer on him. I'll follow him down in my Wolfen."

"Tracer set." Leon announced a few seconds later as I approached the door to the hallway. Walking out, I growled softly. Despite the cranky old badger that had hired us, I still didn't want this plan to fall through, especially considering we had a carrier to do all of our traveling.

"This better not be a diversion." I said to myself as I entered the hanger and jumped into my Wolfen.

* * *

"Great. So, Century is missing, Wolf escaped, and now we're missing an Arwing" I snarled, pounding my fist into the table. "How much worse could this get?"

"Fox, please don't say that." Krystal said, "We still outclass almost all of our enemies in firepower, not to mention skill level."

"Thanks, Krys, but that's only a small consolation. We're still going to be outnumbered a hundred to one." I said. I was perfectly aware that we'd been through a lot worse than this, but each time, we only barely made it out. And, as if on cue…

"Come on, we've come out over worse odds than that." Falco chimed in, smirking. "You scared we can't pull it off for the twenty billionth time?"

"Fine, but we're still short a man and an Arwing" I replied, knowing I wasn't going to win that argument. "We can't really let these things happen, you know."

"Well, we can track him. All the Arwings have a locater on them so we can detect them wherever they happen to be." Slippy added.

"Why didn't you mention that before?" I asked, turning to him.

Slippy shrugged, "I just sort of forgot about it. I didn't figure we'd ever need it."

"Well, let's get up to the bridge and see where Star Wolf took Century to." I said, walking out of the hanger.

"What about Zoness?" Krin asked, and I stopped.

"I never said we'd go after him yet. We still have to protect Zoness, but after that we'll go after him." I reasoned. "But we might as well see where he's at."

Again on cue, Slippy ran off, hollering behind him, "Come on, I want to check if my trackers actually work." I smiled, and we all hurried after him, quickly making our way to the bridge.

* * *

As soon as I was planet-side, I searched along the ground, swiftly finding a familiar landmark. The enormous, head-like rock protruding from the ground was clear proof that I was close to my desired destination. Realizing that Star Wolf wouldn't simply ignore a lone Arwing, I landed in the middle of a large field, and began to run the final mile and a half to my intended location.

* * *

I watched my long distance radar carefully, and took note as the single radar blip identifying the Arwing halted its movement. _At least he's smart,_ I thought, heading towards it. I much preferred not to go against enemies that would be too easy to be worth it, and I had no reason to change that now.

I landed a short distance from the Arwing, running a scan on the ground. I found only a single set of footsteps, leading away from the craft. I leaped out of my Wolfen, and followed the path, taking my time.

"Whatever you're planning, it's not gonna work, you little ingrate." I said out loud, an amused smirk crawling across my face. I'd done such things innumerable times, and I didn't expect this one to be much different. Find the target, eliminate any possible threat, and do what I had to do.

* * *

We arrived on the bridge, Slippy already typing away at a console, and a holo-map of the Lylat system displayed in the center of the area. I watched the toad work until he hit the 'enter' key, and waited.

A few seconds passed before the words 'signal not within designated search parameters' flashed across the map. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Slippy asked out loud.

"Increase the search area." Krin suggested, shrugging. Slippy typed at his keyboard a bit more and the map increased in size to include the nearest adjacent star systems. When he started the search this time, it took almost a minute for it all to process, and a small dot appeared on a planet in the Verdigris System, which really wasn't far from Lylat.

"What is that planet?" I asked. It rather resembled Corneria.

"That would be planet Yeetov. Century and I were there a few years ago." Krin said, "But if Century is there, that means Star Wolf is there, too."

"Good point. That also means they won't be at Zoness, making our job a little bit easier." I said.

* * *

I quickly found the location of a trap door under some fake grass. Moving to a nearby tree, I accessed a hidden panel. It was a standard password input, but it was still will-hidden, just like everything else that was in the general area. After the computer accepted my password, the trap door opened, revealing a flight of stairs, that I quickly descended, hitting a key on another panel on my way down to make the door close.

After a long, dimly lit hallway, I came to a rather large room. A hanger. I hit the light switch next to me and the entire hanger bay was illuminated. Nodding to myself, I practically ran down the metal stairs to the main floor, walking towards a very large, black spacecraft.

The craft itself was nearly twice the size of an Arwing. It didn't appear to have a cockpit, but it did indeed have one. The canopy, like so much else, was sort of hidden, and wasn't really even a canopy so much as an access hatch to the cockpit. It had two, somewhat large plasma boosters on the back, with a setup of 6 G-Diffusers surrounding them. It's two main wings were forward-swept, and contained high power Gravity Blades. The nose stabilizers were had a lower power output, but they didn't really need very much. Another pair of stabilizers were situated just to the outer side of each engine, and one more was on the belly of the craft. At the edge of the main wings and at the tip of the nose were 3 high-power plasma cannons, each with their own cooling system. Just in front of the undercarriage stabilizer fin was a launch tube for Nova Bombs, Torpedoes, or whatever high ordinance weapon one wanted to load there.

The hull itself was nearly an inch thick, and within lay a very powerful shield generator, almost powerful enough to protect something twice its size. Overall, it was a powerhouse, able to take down a large number of ships, while still being very fast, and decently maneuverable. (Basically like Falken in Ace Combat 5, but thicker: http://www.. )

I found the small remote on a nearby table and pressed a button, causing the access hatch to open, climbed the ladder, and hopped in. It was almost pitch black, save for the light coming in from the hatch. I sat down, typing in a few commands on the barely visible keyboards, and the cockpit lit up, the spherical 'room' activating. An entire system of well gaurded, miniscule cameras on the hull whirred quietly to life, filling the cockpit with the image of what lay around the ship. A few more commands, and the anti-grav modules reved to life, pushing the ship off of the supports a few inches. One more set of typed commands and a deep groaning filled the hanger as several neumatic drivers activated to push the roof up.

I pushed the vertical accelerator, and felt the ship moving upwards slowly. Smirking slightly, I wondered what the team would think of it.

* * *

I followed the trail quickly, almost disappointed by how easy it was to track. It was simply leading straight, but it ended just before a large clearing. Not that the trail veered off, or looped around. No, it wasn't that, although there was a path leading to a tree then back. The trail just disappeared, ceased to be. I crouched down, running my hand along the ground. I found a very small crack, and brushed at it until the reason for the vanishing footprints revealed itself. There was a trap door.

"Great, so he went underground. What is this bastard up to?" I said to myself. I felt around on the door to see of there was some sort of handle to open it with, but found none. I remembered the footprints leading to the tree, and I followed that, walking up to the tree, and examining it carefully. It seemed normal enough, but before I could examine it further, I heard a loud groaning sound.

Moving back so I could see the clearing, I saw the ground splitting and raising, and a large, black ship rose from the depths. It wasn't big enough to carry another, but definitely a lot bigger than the Wolfen.

"Well shit." I didn't bother waiting for a cue as I started running back to my own ship.

_

* * *

Sorry about the long wait. I got a few responses from readers saying I should continue. If I'm entertaining even a few people, that's awesome, so continue I shall. However, I think I'm going to go back to 3__rd__ person next chapter. I'm kind of tired of 1__st__ person._

_Next chapter, the battle at Zoness. Century and Star Wolf will be back in chapter 13._


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